- Trump tries to repeal 14th Amendment by edict again
Source: Reuters
“U.S. President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday that the White House said expands the definition of people who are ineligible for birthright citizenship and bans ‘birth tourism.’ Limiting birthright citizenship has been one of the top priorities in the Republican president’s crackdown on immigration. An earlier effort by Trump was rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in June, prompting him to call upon Congress to act.” (08/06/26)
https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-sign-orders-birthright-citizenship-axios-reports-2026-08-06/
- Hormuz deal may block US, Israeli shipments
Source: Yahoo! News
“Iranian state media on Thursday reported that Tehran could attempt to block U.S. and Israeli shipments from transiting the Strait of Hormuz under its joint venture with Oman to reopen the critical waterway to commercial traffic. Members of Iran’s parliament are reviewing a proposed bill to block “hostile” vessels from moving through the choke point responsible for carrying a fifth of the world’s oil transports per day under normal conditions. Ships caught violating the policy could face a 20 percent fine if caught by Iranian authorities, per state media. Each ship approved to transit the strait will face fees for insurance, refueling and or environmental costs, according to Iranian state media. … The Trump administration has maintained that there will be no tolls on the strait.” (08/06/26)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/iran-moves-block-us-israeli-032540520.html
- Yemen: Houthi attacks on Saudi puppet regime forces kill at least 30
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Yemen’s Houthi group has killed at least 30 [Saudi puppet regime] soldiers and injured 15 others in missile attacks on Yemeni military camps in the governorates of Hadramout and Marib, government sources told Al Jazeera. Thursday’s strikes on military sites, including some run by Yemen’s Emergency Forces, are the deadliest in years in the country’s civil [sic] war. They follow an increase in violence in Yemen seen in recent weeks. … the attack struck at 2pm local time (11:00 GMT) on Thursday, hitting camps belonging to several [Saudi puppet regime] military formations, the Homeland Shield Forces, the Emergency Forces and the First Military Region in Hadramout. The Homeland Shield Forces, formed in 2022 with Saudi backing and numbering tens of thousands, guard the Marib-Hadramout frontier and the Saudi border.” (08/06/26)
- Court orders Instagram and Facebook’s Meta to pay $567 million bribe after frivolous lawsuit
Source: Associated Press
“A New Mexico court has ordered Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta to pay $567 million to address harms [sic] to young people from its platforms in the second phase of a landmark trial. Judge Bryan Biedscheid said in a ruling late Thursday that the bulk of the money — $420 million — will be used for treatment services for young people. The rest will go toward awareness and prevention, screening services and other costs over the next five years. The new penalty is in addition to the $375 million in civil penalties that jurors ordered against Meta in March after [hallucinating that] the company knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms.” (08/06/26)
- KY: Someone claiming to be Mitch McConnell says he’s leaving rehab, heading home
Source: WLKY News
“Another update from Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office. On Thursday, they sent out another statement from him, saying he’s headed home. … ‘Earlier today, I was discharged from the rehabilitation center to continue my recovery at home. … On the advice of my doctors, I’ll maintain an intensive regimen of physical therapy from home during the state work period, and I’ll continue to engage with my staff and colleagues on important Senate business.’ … The 84-year-old senator was hospitalized June 14 after reportedly suffering a fall. On July 12, it was announced he was moved to a rehab facility where he has been until now. This is only the third statement said to be directly from McConnell since then. He has not been publicly seen, but his staff has provided two photos.” (08/06/26)
https://www.wlky.com/article/sen-mitch-mcconnell-health-update-out-of-rehab-home/73368744
- UK: Youngest black professor at Cambridge resigns as university investigates allegations of plagiarism
Source: Associated Press
“A British sociologist who became famous as the youngest [b]lack professor ever at the University of Cambridge has resigned after the university opened an investigation into ‘new information’ about his academic qualifications. Professor Jason Arday, who was 37 when he became a Cambridge professor in 2023, announced his decision late Wednesday following weeks of allegations about plagiarism in his academic work and questions surrounding claims about his athletic and fundraising accomplishments. … Questions about his qualifications were raised publicly last month by Nathan Cofnas, a one-time Cambridge philosophy researcher who left the university after his critique of diversity, equity and inclusion programs sparked widespread protests.” (08/06/26)
- I Stopped Being a Libertarian Because I Realized the Sky is Blue
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan“When a thinker publicly changes his mind on major questions, neutral observers normally interpret it as a sign of courage and maturity. Almost no one enjoys admitting they were wrong — and ‘I changed my mind’ is tantamount to ‘I was wrong.’ On reflection, however, this favorable interpretation is premature. Yes, changing your mind because you discover surprising new evidence or arguments is courageous and mature. But what if you change your mind for purely emotional reasons, like ‘The idea that murderers shouldn’t be punished started to disgust me’? Or because you have a falling out with friends who share your views? ‘My girlfriend dumped me, so I left the church.’ Neither of these intellectual paths even hints at courage or maturity. The situation only slightly shifts if you change your mind because you ‘discover’ blatantly obvious evidence or arguments.” (08/06/26)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/i-stopped-being-a-libertarian-because
- For Real “Farm Aid,” Go “Free Trade”
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp“The ‘farm bill’ concept is 93 years old, and it’s as bad an idea now, when only 1% of Americans work in agriculture, as it was in 1933’s first round of New Deal legislation, back when that number was 25%. We keep getting better at producing more food with less labor, but apparently buried deep within the US Constitution there’s an amendment obligating American taxpayers and consumers to ensure that anyone whose great-grandfather wore overalls and drove a tractor gets to make a living and have a career doing the same thing. I can’t find it, but it must be in there somewhere, right? Otherwise, why does Congress spend more than $70 billion a year to make it so?” (08/06/26)
- Trump’s Commerce Department as Venture Capitalist: Political Investment at its Worst
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by William L Anderson“As America’s first reality-show president, Donald Trump wants people to think he is breaking new ground and transforming America for the better. Stepping where no president before has gone, Trump has directed the US Commerce Department to take equity positions in 30 American firms, which clearly is controversial. Although the US is new to this policy, it isn’t the first country to do this, as France, Norway, Germany, China, and others have already seen governments purchase partial ownership in private firms. Supporters of this practice claim that any government infusion of cash into these businesses will expand the economy’s capital base, but there are plenty of reasons to oppose this practice, which economist Randall Holcomb has labeled ‘political capitalism.'” (08/06/26)
- Censorship Will Never Solve Antisemitism
Source: Yascha Mounk
by Yascha Mounk“When a group of neo-Nazis planned to march through the town of Skokie, Illinois, home to many Holocaust survivors, it was a Jewish attorney who stood up for their right of assembly. David Goldberger, then the legal director of the ACLU of Illinois, was no self-hating Jew, and he certainly harbored no sympathy for the National Socialist Party of America. But he realized that ‘the constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and press would be meaningless if the government could pick and choose the persons to whom they apply.’ … The smartest case for free speech has never turned on denying that some utterances are so vile that all of us would be better off if they somehow disappeared from the public sphere. Rather, it was always based on skepticism that any institution, private or public, would consistently make these determinations in a reasonable and selfless manner.” (08/06/26)
https://writing.yaschamounk.com/p/dear-jews-dont-forget-your-free-speech
- Data Centers Are Not the Problem. Bad Policy Is.
Source: The Dispatch
by Scott Lincicome“In one sense, public backlash to data centers in the United States shouldn’t be surprising: Their construction and deployment have skyrocketed across the country, creating—not to get all goopy on you—a highly visible target for American angst about AI, Big Tech, U.S. politics, the turbulent economy, male-pattern baldness, and surely more. A recent New York Times op-ed captures the mood on the left well: These giant bricks guzzle water, gobble electricity, buzz loudly 24/7, and enrich Silicon Valley billionaires at regular folks’ expense. Opposition, however, isn’t just on the left: You’ll find similar takes from MAGA types on Facebook and NextDoor, and—as I just saw myself when driving outside Raleigh last week—big ‘NO DATA CENTER’ signs along many a rural roadside. Yet most of the common objections to data centers collapse under scrutiny.” (08/06/26)
https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/dispatch-markets/data-center-water-electric-taxes-benefits/
- The Long View of Iran
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson“One day, the United States seems ready to unleash a Curtis LeMay-style devastating bombing campaign of Iran. The next, it appears trapped in endless haggling with Iranian dissimulators. Of the roughly 150 days since the first strike, about 90 have passed without major military operations. Iran believes time is on its side. The Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted, gas prices are too high, and antiwar House Democrats seem poised to win the midterms and bring Trump’s war to a halt. Trump, by contrast, believes Iran can talk all it wants while sanctions, embargoes, and military pressure steadily weaken the regime. The war has become so politicized in an election year that several basic realities have gone largely unnoticed by the media. First, the cycle of bombing, pausing, negotiating, and bombing again may seem endless. But the confusion obscures the continuing effects of the embargoes, sanctions, blockade, and financial isolation imposed on Iran.” (08/06/26)
- Can a Freely Given Coconut Begin Civilization?
Source: The Daily Economy
by Anthony Gill“Trust precedes trade. Our natural empathy, our desire to see others do well, cultivates social order and generates the wealth of nations.” (08/06/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/can-a-freely-given-coconut-begin-civilization/
- Underthrow Podcast, 08/06/26
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 08/06/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Trump Threatens To Jail Arms Shortage ‘Leakers,’ Ansar Allah Launches Major Strikes, and More.” (08/06/26)
- Rising, 08/06/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on Yale professor Samuel Moyn suggesting that American children should be indirectly given voting power by assigning their votes to young people over the age of 18.” (08/06/26)